Hey Tonya and Igor,
After much deliberation and consultation from my network of advisors and friends, I am shifting the benefit of doubt I generously provided to the local and regional Democratic Party. The error was mine. I originally approached politics with a trust-based enthusiasm that I brought into the tech, education, and non-profit world, but now I realize I am dealing with a different beast altogether, so I've adapted.
The conversation we had should not have taken place. I will provide another email to specifically address my sharing of links of Emeryville news and another on intra-council conflicts. All of which will be made publicly available on votepriforce.com where I have chronicled my interactions in politics.
I understand the need for conflict resolution, but without a third party mediator or someone impartial involved, then it did more harm than good to address one party while having bias in favor of the other. It doesn't create an atmosphere for new entrants into the party and into politics. It doesn't add more seats to the table if they are being used as musical chairs by party insiders.
That is why I have added party members and leaders in addition to these messages who I have most interacted with, and they have come to know me, some longer than others, but I trust will provide a more balanced and wider perspective in addressing when issues such as these come up. Some may agree or disagree with me, but have shown me they are willing to engage party members when problems such as these arise.
I also understand why I felt frustrated and unfairly treated during our conversation in addition to the chaotic audio and visual stimuli with being on a moving train and constantly checking to see if I would arrive at my destination (which I still managed to miss while my daughter was waiting for me because she forgot her keys). I highly recommend a reconciliation and resolution committee be formed that can address antipathy with empathy.
Frankly, as a Black man, being held to a different standard or it be requested that I be the "bigger man" is an exercise in dehumanization that has followed me since pre-k. I am and always will be the bigger man, I don't have to prove it through arbitrary actions.
Who I am, what I have done, and what I will do will speak for itself. It doesn't change my respect, admiration, and support for the both of you and your leadership of ACDEMS, but would I have handled all of this differently in your shoes? Yes.
Councilmember Priforce
Hey Tonya and Igor,
The crux of the issue of my sharing local news with a democratic club will no longer be up for debate. Not from me that is.
Sharing an article or a link from an Emeryville news source will be ongoing. If they are critical of myself or any of my fellow colleagues, the healthiest and most professional response is to correct the author directly or ignore it altogether, but I was not elected by my constituents to suppress the free press.
Responding to the article in the town square, in-person or virtually is up to the discretion of every reader. As democratic institutions, the debate should be about the content, not its proliferation. I will no longer be apologizing for sharing links.
What I am building in Emeryville benefits the Democratic Party and democracy as a whole by restoring the faith our electorate has in our institutions and in the city council. When I campaigned for this election, voter apathy was high and public engagement was low. In a matter of months, I reversed those historic trends and created a system that can be expanded to include other contests and races.
Once dubbed the "Rottenest City on the Pacific Coast," Emeryville can be an influential player in local to national politics. It takes work, a lot of work to accomplish this, so I can't abide by petty squabbles or the high school-like antics of the few that would distract me from serving the many, and especially making sure Emeryville does right by its people of color and indigenous populations.
Eville Eye, Emeryville Tattler, Zennie Abrahm's show, Black Business Roundtable, East Bay Insiders, and even Berkeleyside/Oaklandside exist independently in ways that are not beholden to corporate and political power structures. If I don't deliver on the public good, I expect them to hold me accountable just as they do with my colleagues.
They are the journalistic voices of Emeryville and the East Bay, and many may not be happy with them, and I don't condone personal attacks, but they are what we have, and despite their tonal and publication differences, they all serve the public and bring something to the table that checks the powers that be. They don't exist to appease. They exist to inform.
Councilmember Priforce
Hey Tonya and Igor,
It doesn't serve the public good for conflicts within our party to exist, especially when they involve people of color, specifically Black people.
As it relates to my colleague, Councilmember Welch: she is my senior elected official in Emeryville and I both respect and highly regard Councilmember Welch too much to expect anyone but her to give me a call as a parley to share grievances, discuss mutual interests, and form respectful agreements - in keeping with the Brown Act.
With absolute certitude, I have every faith that Councilmember Welch is capable of guiding these talks, and it's disappointing that others don't share my confidence. I don't believe proxies are necessary, but perhaps a mediator, someone of senior ranking in the party may also provide an opportunity for healthy discussions.
Unfortunately, the impetus for this conflict was never addressed until it was brought up by the article link I posted and which I am being asked to repeatedly apologize for sharing: the "collegiality pledge." I would welcome a resolution that discourages any sitting elected official in the Alameda County Democratic Party from requiring or suggesting a collegiality pledge from candidates, especially when they are Democrats and the candidates have been endorsed by the Democratic Party. No one should be subjected to signed pre-conditions for endorsements that address behavior that has been projected on to them, and be shamed for speaking out against it.
If the roles were reversed and Mayor Bauters requested then candidate Courtney Welch to sign a collegiality pledge while I as the sitting councilmember agreed, would you suggest she apologize to me after she shared a link that made this knowledge public? Would you still ask her to apologize to me if I used violent communication to attack her and defend myself on social media?
It's not unlike MeToo stories with Lupita Nyong'o describing her experience of Harvey Weinstein and that "no one challenged him." If continued to persist, collegiality pledges will harm our party, taint the reputations of elected officials with misconduct, and betray the public's trust. This needs to be challenged, but it hasn't been.
Lastly, realizing that this has resurfaced my own struggles with PTSD, I am taking steps to safeguard my own mental health acuity and alleviate the stress-induced feelings of "injustice" caused as a result of this experience.
I want Councilmember Welch to win. I don't want her to lose and do not wish her for her to fail, because it does not serve Emeryville and would drag me into the incessant culture that exists in our city hall that no one is challenging.
The work in front of me is vast and requires me to shrink these feelings of injustice and place them behind me - for the good of my constituents and the people of Emeryville. After our recent phone conversation on Friday, January 20th, I made repeated calls to her and received no callbacks; however, in keeping with my word to you both, I will apologize to her with compassion for the pain and harm this conflict has caused her - in person, because I believe that even when justice has been denied, love may still be granted.
Councilmember Priforce